Steve's Jumped In!

21 April 2010 | Puerto Patillas, Puerto Rico

Photo: Second sighting of Manatee.

Steve fell overboard today!
He say's he slipped in.
I had just come up from the galley, when Steve informed me that he was going into the dingy because the fishing lines were all tangled up. Frustrated by the entangled fishing lines, he decided it was best to undo the lure so that he could unwind one entangled line from the other end. As I reached for the auto pilot, I thought for an instant that he should be wearing his life jacket but Steve was heading back to the aft deck. I asked if we should slow down the boat. He suggested that he would decide if it was necessary. I throttled down slightly. We had two lines out, both sails up, and the motor at 15 rpm's.
As I backed off the throttle, Steve was already over the back, standing on the monitor and pulling the dinghy line towards him.
Suddenly I heard that dreaded splash! As I turned around, I shouted "Oh, Steve" and put the boat into neutral. At first I couldn't see him, but then I saw him hanging on for dear life, one arm slung over the side of the dinghy, the other hand grabbing the line that runs along side the craft. He looked to me a little stressed. "Hang on, hang on!" I panicked (noticing his struggle) and put the throttle into reverse (for a minute), hoping to slow the boat even more and hoping not to have him under the prop (back into neutral). The boat came to enough of a crawl, when Steve who could then muster enough of a shout; "Put the boat into the wind!"
Why didn't I think of that? I put the boat into irons and Steve pulled himself over the side of the dinghy.
The funny thing about this story; As he pulled himself to safety, I watched this white, skinny, bare ass land itself onto the floor. Steve was nude. The force of the water had been so great it stripped the clothing right off him. He claims that his bathing trunks were dragged below his knees. He tried to keep them but that prevented him from slinging himself aboard the dinghy. We both burst into laughter!
Now that's trolling!

After recovering from today's activity, I reminisced.
Mike lost his bathing suit while surfing in the water, with Thera alongside, hanging onto a line, tethered off the back of our then sailboat a 1988 C&C 30. He was around the age of 7 and both were wearing their life jackets. The wind was light and we were lazily sailing down wind. Our friend Jim was with us. We were enjoying an unusually warm water day. Suddenly we had a burst of a breeze and the boat took off. The kids were great swimmers and surfers (luckily) and they managed to keep their head above the water. By the time we let the lines go, to spill the wind and reduce speed; Mike started to cry. He had lost his bathing trucks and was in no way going to climb aboard (we were all laughing hysterically at his misfortune). Jim tried hard to calm Mike by explaining that things like this happened to all of us at one time or another and it was nothing to be embarrassed about (mind the pun). Finally, Mike climbed aboard.

Coming full circle around the Caribbean, we have sold Lion's Paw and are now Cruisers Living on Dirt.. but you can't take the sailor out of anyone.

Extra:

This blog is meant for family and friends whom wish to share in our adventure. I plan to add a few comments along the way that may be of help for those wishing to embark on a similar voyage. Looking forward to meeting you out there!